Saddle slipping

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Eve&Flo

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Hi, I'm new here and I just wondered what would be best to help stop my saddle from slipping on my loan pony, she's quite round at the moment! I've only ridden her a few of times and the loan hasn't officially started yet - can't wait until Thursday! :D But she gets very sweaty at the moment and the saddle slips, literally can't tighten the girth anymore! Had a few people attempt to do it! It's no so much of an issue doing flat work but after a round of jumping it's awful.. Wondered if a different girth would be better - she does has a cotton one atm so I suppose that's no god 'cause it just soaks up the sweat.. or a girth sleeve... not sure what would be cheaper... I have seen this though which I like but don't know if it would be any good... http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250900826941&ssPageName=ADME:B:WNASIF:GB:1123

Thank you xx
 
Congrats on the loan. Hopefully you having her will help her lose some weight. It doesn't sound like the saddle fits, was it fitted when she was slimmer maybe, so I'd get a saddle fitter to look for you.
 
If the saddle fits well then sweat should make no difference. I don't like fixed ie non elasticated girths with these issues - the right tree and panel etc will mean that you can use a girth with elastic at both ends - it must be strong elastic though. It's much kinder for when the ribcage expands, and goes WITH the ribcage when it contracts, whereas a fixed girths leaves a moment of slack. I fit really wide tricky horses as my specialism and I never need or recommend fixed girths. It does sound like you are already overtightening the girth to try and keep the saddle still and this can cause damage - I have seen "grooves" in horses from one stirrup bar all the way round the ribcage to the other stirrup bar caused by overgirthing.

Definitely get the saddle fitter out - a well fitting saddle should not slip, though equally you may want to have a physical therapist out as well to rule out a biomechanical reason.
 
Barnsby non slip saddlecloths seem good. Dont get anything that actually sticks to the hair on their back as that can be very painful when it starts to slip. I am not a fan of elastic ends to girths as I think these can easily be overtighten
 
carthorse said:
Barnsby non slip saddlecloths seem good. Dont get anything that actually sticks to the hair on their back as that can be very painful when it starts to slip. I am not a fan of elastic ends to girths as I think these can easily be overtighten
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A well fitting saddle shouldn't need any form of non-slip pad. And I hear this very often about elasticated girths - any form of horse tack can be misused, doesn't mean it isn't the best tool for the job. I educate my customers on how to use their girths - always check your actual girth tightness, not just whether you CAN tighten it, because yes, with an elasticated girth you'll always be able to tighten it more than you should. We should not sacrifice horse comfort because of our ignorance.
 
I would get the pony's back checked and then the fit of the saddle. As has been said, overtightening a girth can cause real damage to the pony. It should not be necessary to tighten it as tight as you possibly can.

If the pony is very fat, his current saddle may not fit properly until he is back to his original shape. Perhaps you could pick up a cheap 2nd hand Wintec or Thorowgood adjustable saddle until he loses some weight.

Good luck with your new loan!
 
Tried loads of expensive saddles on my pony and needed a grip pad or Prolite pad or they moved. Tried on a secondhand new condition maxam today and it appears to me to be a perfect fit. No pad no numnah and it never moved. Cost 60 quid :rolleyes: just hope the saddle fitter agrees. :o:D
 
well one thing is for sure if jockeys didnt have a non slip sheet on under race saddles then there would be lots of jockeys under horses!

a little tip: buy a chamie leather from halfords, dampen it put it on the horses back followed by the saddle pad followed by the saddle. or go on line Gibsons saddlers newmarket they do a few different sorts frpom 4.95!

Saddles do slip even those that have been fitted on some horses. The weight of the rider/position along with the horses action can cause slipping.
 
Are we talking forwards, backwards or side to side with the slipping?

A limpet or Geleze are very useful. Think you can also get numnahs with a similar rubbery material under them too.
 
This is interesting, from the SRT International Workshop this year ( Sue Dyson's talk)
"It was noted that the tendency of a saddle to slip to one side was often recognised as a potential cause of back pain. A saddle could slip because of asymmetry of the horse’s back, an ill-fitting saddle, the inability of a rider to sit straight, or secondary to hindlimb lameness. An on-going study had shown that in approximately 50% of horses with hindlimb lameness, the saddle consistently slipped to one side with more than 1 rider, despite symmetry of the back musculature and a well-fitting saddle. When the lameness was abolished by nerve blocks, the saddle no longer slipped, indicating that saddle slip may actually be an indicator of lameness."

You can find it on the Saddle Research Trust's website.
 
Interestingly every saddle I tried slipped to the right but not new saddle, it hasn't moved at all. So I reckon the other saddles just weren't a good fit myself!
 
Mark Gilbert said:
well one thing is for sure if jockeys didnt have a non slip sheet on under race saddles then there would be lots of jockeys under horses!

a little tip: buy a chamie leather from halfords, dampen it put it on the horses back followed by the saddle pad followed by the saddle. or go on line Gibsons saddlers newmarket they do a few different sorts frpom 4.95!

Saddles do slip even those that have been fitted on some horses. The weight of the rider/position along with the horses action can cause slipping.
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Racehorse saddles are seldom really fitted in the way that most saddles are professionally fitted - some yards simply have the (untrained) yard secretary decide which horse wears which saddle. Ex rachorses have notoriously poor backs when they come out of racing, hardly something to base your decisions on.

So if saddles do slip, how do you explain my four years saddle fitting experience, on wide fitting horses, with slippage indicating a saddle does NOT fit, and I go out and correct it? If a saddle moves by definition it does not fit. Occasionally I see a saddle where it is ALL about the rider causing slippage, but that is rare. And of course issues with the horse, all horses are mildly asymmetric though - the right saddle can make a horse look like it is not asymmetric, the closer/better the fit the less the saddle moves.

FfionWinnie said:
Interestingly every saddle I tried slipped to the right but not new saddle, it hasn't moved at all. So I reckon the other saddles just weren't a good fit myself!
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Thank you FW. My point precisely. We must have higher standards when having our saddles fitted. A saddle that moves does not fit. It may only need a minor tweak, or it may be that the tree is wrong. I see other brands of saddle all the time where the tree is fundamentally too curved for the horse - too many are fitted with rider comfort coming first ie deep seats etc, and the fit is seen as "good enough", as it's the closest the fitter can get to perfect. Doesn't mean it's a perfect fit, or even the right saddle!
 
I have same problem. Bought a new horse and owners kept his old saddle which was a Wow. Have bought and tried 7 different saddles including adjustable Kent & Masters and they all slip. Am now only lunging until I find a solution :(
 
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